AAR: The Road to Fort Capuzzo

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Originally posted 15th March 2011

An AAR from Zippee, who recently played the first scenario from the Operation Compass Scenario pack.

A successful and enjoyable game, except for the fact that the Zipmeister's camera tripod fell apart just after he'd laid out the terrain. Accompanying illustrations are therefore of the desert in all its lonely glory. Enjoy!

New 15mm WW2 Figure Manufacturers posted

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Originally posted 10th March 2011

I've added a couple of new entries to the list of WW2 15mm manufacturers.

First up are Obscure Miniatures with the somewhat controversial release of a range of 15mm Hitler Jugend figures. Here is the bumph from their website along with a couple of pictures:

"Well, here is the beginning of our "Battle for Berlin" range. To start with we have the Hitler Youth. The command is 15mm to the eyes and the infantry is 15mm to the top of the head. These are scaled to be children soldiers. If you ever really wanted to do Berlin and the end of the war with the correct figures here they are. Some of the helmets and gear has been over scaled to give that cast off, hand me down feel. We hope these fit in with some of your battles."

Next up is an entry for Zvezda, a Russian company that have been threatening to release 1/100th scale plastic tanks for some time. Their website is in Russian, but translates into English, but you will probably need to find a distributor from whom to order rather than being able to do so directly.

As far as I can see from the website catalogue, they have four models available now:  an early T-34 (natch!); a T-26; a Panzer II and a Panzer III. Here's a small piccy pf the T-34 (not sure what that flag is doing at the back) which is apparently a five part kit. The picture links to the appropriate Zvezda page so you can see a bigger version, along with pictures of the front and back of the box showing more detail.

AAR: Double Trouble on the Eastern Front

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Originally posted 30th January 2011

The second and third IABSM games of the New Year: a quick pick up game involving a Soviet assault on a Fallschirmjager-held village somewhere on the Eastern Front.

Terrific action, including some stunning exploits from Soviet tank-killers and a German anti-tank gun crew led by Leutnant Freddi Feuerzangenbowle! 

Vehicles from Gaming Models

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Originally posted 20th January 2011

Some new and somewhat rare additions to my collection. For the BEF, there is a patrol of Morris CS armoured cars; and for the Italians there are two AB40 armoured car patrols: one for the desert and one for Sicily.

All the models come from Gaming Models, a company that I have eschewed for a long time, put off by early reviews and the pictures on their website. A full review will follow, but suffice to say I am very happy with the AB40s and pretty happy with the Morris CSs.

Morris CS9 from Gaming Models

AB40 armoured cars from Gaming Models

The AB40s painted, more correctly, in dark green

Blasts from the Past

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Originally posted 16th January 2011

Whilst sorting through all the files on my computer, I came across some photos of some of the first games of IABSM that I set up and ran myself.

Those of you who notice that some of the hedges in both these games are made out of green ring binder spines will be relived to know that I now have huge numbers of "proper" hedges!

AAR: Action within Tobruk

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Originally posted 3rd January 2011

The first game of the New Year: a scenario taken from the Operation Compass scenario booklet covering the early war in the Western Desert.

Today, deep within the heart of the Italian stronghold of Tobruk , the assaulting Australians find themselves on the end of a rather nasty looking Italian counter-attack. 

Final batch of painting for 2010

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Originally posted 27th December 2010

Soviet heavy mortars; Lion class transports for the Felids to join the barn force; and a battery of US medium artillery.

Soviet 120mm mortars from Battlefront

Lion class transports from Khurasan

US medium artillery battery from Battlefront

'Beer & Lard Day' at Burton on Trent

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Originally posted 15th November 2010

This weekend saw the first Burton-upon-Trent “Beer & Lard Day”: a day’s wargaming that gives those people unable to easily travel down to Lard HQ for our annual events an opportunity to try out games from the TooFatLardies stable of rules.

My role was to run the games using I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum!, the Lardies’ WW2 company level ruleset.  I ran three different scenarios on the day, the first of which was 3RTR at Hames-Boucres: the third game from the Defence of Calais early war scenario pack.